The present invention relates to a plum tree, designated varietally as "Scarlet Sun" and which is somewhat similar to the Roysum Plum Tree (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,619), from which it was derived as a sport, but from which it is distinguished by producing very large, bright red plums having a harvest date of approximately August 20 at Del Rey, Calif., and has pleasant tasting, moderate orange-yellow colored flesh and which further exhibits excellent cold storage and handling characteristics.
As manager of a large deciduous fruit company, the applicant is constantly on the alert to locate new and novel varieties of fruit for the purposes of improving the various produce that is sent to market from his employer's farms. During the performance of his routine duties, in the fall of 1977, the applicant discovered in a cultivated area, and subsequently marked what appeared to be a sport limb of a Roysum Plum Tree (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,619) bearing new and novel fruit at his employer's Ranch No. 28 located near Tulare, Calif. Budwood from the sport limb was taken, during the winter of 1977 and 1978, and grafted onto seedling test trees in the orchard located near Del Rey, Calif., to which reference has already been made. These test seedlings were thereafter observed and the first fruit of the subject variety was harvested in 1979. The applicant noted at the time that the test seedlings produced plums which were of a unique color and of a harvest date expected to be advantageous to his employer. As a consequence, more budwood was collected from these test trees for further asexual reproduction.